Tufa: A variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of ambient temperature water. A relatively soft rock to dig into that subsequently hardens - eg the catacombs of Rome.
Twofer: When a weary/lazy writer produces one article covering two events.
So let's be clear - its the second definition that applies here!
On Monday, the A team had another Leamington League Division 1 match, away at Shirley A. We had our normal top 3 playing, supplemented this week by Jude on Board 4. The match got off to an anticlimactic start, when Joshua's opponent on Board 3 failed to show. Far more excitement was generated on Board 2, where Andrew played another dynamic game against Dave Thomas. For the second week running he allowed a White knight to jump in on e6, and for the second week running he then proceeded to win with very strong attacking play. At a crucial moment I thought Andrew had lost all his marbles, as he played Qxf2+, when a White rook was sitting on f1. Amazingly Dave didn't take it, and the reason became clear when after his move Kh1, Andrew played Rxf1 mate. Yes, the White rook on f1 had been pinned by a Black rook on a1, which I had just assumed was a White rook! In my defence, it is very, very difficult to tell the pieces in Shirley's sets apart.
I took this as the signal to offer Phil Purcell a draw on Board 1. The position was almost dead equal, but if anyone had a slight edge it wasn't me. But having lost the last three encounters to me, he decided this was no time to get too ambitious, and agreed the draw which secured the match for us. This left Jude battling away against Keith Ingram - and a near 70 year age difference! \It was very complicated stuff. Jude sacked an exchange for a pawn and a strong bishop pair and then it came down to queen, rook and 3 v queen, bishop and 4. I missed the end, but at some point Jude won the exchange back and then managed to win the subsequent queen ending, to give us a 3.5-0.5 victory. As they say in Wales, tidy!
The next night, our Coventry League team, also topping Division 1, was in action, against our nearest pursuers, Nuneaton A. A tough and intense evening of chess followed, at the end of which honours were even and we had maintained our one point advantage in the table. Mike finished first, drawing on Board 3 against Paul Davies, and then we struck the first blow with Andrew winning on top board against Phil Briggs after a slightly strange encounter. First Andrew won a pawn. Then he won another. Then Phil threw a piece into the fray, but once Andrew - eventually - managed to castle, it was White with all the attack and the game was soon over.
I had a very tense game against Tony Green on Board 2. An early queen exchange took the heat out of the position, but it was quite a struggle for both of us to find the best way to place the remaining pieces. Eventually we each decided that neither of us were going anywhere, and agreed to the draw. This meant we couldn't lose, but unfortunately also that we wouldn't win, as Ben was suffering against Colin Green on Board 4. Colin played an excellent squeeze with the Advance Variation against Ben's French and eventually loosened the Black position so that a couple of pawns fell off. He then made no mistake in the ensuing same colour bishop ending to tie the match 2-2 - the same score as in our pre-Xmas encounter, confirming that the two teams are very evenly matched. With Warwick University A only a further point back - and still to play both the teams above them - it is still a three horse race for the title.
Unbelievably we are now set for our fourth consecutive Monday/Tuesday night double header, so you can certainly expect another twofer next week. Unless I'm so exhausted I decide on a noughtfer instead. Which is quite possible, because I'm already Running On Empty. Talking of which, here's an absolutely epic version. Over to you, Jackson!
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